The future of professional law enforcement relies on the ability of organizations to recruit, retain, and develop personnel with critical thinking skills and the character to apply those skills in the service of others. The responsibility for making that happen depends in part on the openness of police executives to utilize diverse leadership practices. An environmental scan of the current relationship between law enforcement officers and those to whom they are accountable, both inside and outside the organization, reveal significant tensions. Despite these challenges, police services recruit and retain service-oriented professional law enforcement personnel. Many current challenges are due to societal issues beyond the direct control of police agencies, so it is even more critical for police leaders to focus on those areas within their control, which includes using all the tools at their disposal to ensure the continued functionality of their organizations.

Consider the following situations. A police executive is responsible for addressing poor morale among officers with 10 to 15 years of experience. The poor morale is due to tensions when engaging with the public, increased violence and a lack of respect, and feeling they have better options based on a risk versus benefits analysis for their personal and professional lives. Police executives are constantly scanning their organizations to identify competent, character-driven personnel with the potential to take on future leadership roles so they can provide effective talent management. Police executives are trying to attract personnel to their agencies instead of having talent move to bordering communities.